Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world:

Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on the Kyoto Protocol:

While much hope is being pinned on the Kyoto Protocol, much remains undone. Although the target of reducing greenhouse gases has already been set for the first phase of five years starting in 2008, the countries concerned have many matters to discuss for the long-range plan.

Moreover, the United States bolted from the protocol and President George W. Bush said his country would not return to it. The United States, the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, decries the protocol for its failure to oblige China and India. China, the second largest producer of the gases, retorts that the United States and other developed countries should perform their duty first. Such mutual recrimination is not productive.

One estimate forecasts that the United States and China will produce 37 percent of the world's carbon dioxide in 2010. It is essential that the greenhouse gases produced by China and other countries as well as the United States be regulated in one way or another in the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol.

Jyllands-Posten, Copenhagen, Denmark, on the role of Sunnis in Iraq's new government:

It's a remarkable achievement that Iraq can muster 59 percent turnout at the absolute starting point of its democratic process. It should convince even the most stubborn critics of the United States and its coalition partners that the Iraqi people are outright positive when it comes to the democratic experiment and the chance of gaining more peace in the country.

Unfortunately the impressive turnout is by no means homogeneous. The high turnout of the Kurdish provinces, compared with the low turnout of the Sunni provinces show that tensions, which may seem overwhelming, continue to exist in Iraqi society. Some might say the Sunnis are responsible for their bad results since the calls for boycotting the elections and the horrible threats came from their circles.

But no matter what has happened before the elections, one must recognise that it's important to involve the Sunnis as much as possible in the process of going from the provisional stage to the constitution that will serve as the platform for democracy and freedom.

Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri:

Last October, the United Nations, apparently under US pressure, passed a resolution demanding Syrian troops' withdrawal from Lebanon. Successive Lebanese governments have been keen to keep the Syrian troops to help maintain national security. With pressure piled up on it, Damascus has recently confirmed it will pull out troops upon the Lebanese government's request.

Hariri recently stepped into the foray, joining calls for Syria to end military presence and influence in Lebanon. It is too early to point the finger at the masterminds and culprits of yesterday's bombing of Hariri's motorcade.

With Syria under fire from different directions, its foes may well take advantage of yesterday's sinister attack to drive a wedge between Damascus and Beirut. Reviving the bitter 1975-1990 legacy jeopardises the impressive political and economic feats the Lebanese have attained over the past decade. None among the Lebanese across the national spectrum stands to benefit from squandering these accomplishments.